Ilkley Film to Begin Shooting & Five Films They Should Make

An Ilkley film project will begin shooting in town this month. The black comedy, entitled Ilkley, stars Derek Jacobi, Roger Allam and Anna Maxwell-Martin, and the action takes place during the Ilkley Literature Festival.

Ilkley Film Plot

The movie centres around a world-renowned secularist arriving to speak at the literature festival. However, he soon becomes the target of an assassination attempt by two evangelists. Anna Maxwell-Martin is a Yorkshire lass who appeared in Becoming Jane, the film about the early life of Jane Austen. Derek Jacobi is known for a wide range of credits, from I Claudius to Last Tango in Halifax, whilst Roger Allam notably stars as hapless MP Peter Mannion in The Thick of It.

Expect to see the stars of the Screen Yorkshire-backed Ilkley in the coming weeks.

More Movies Filmed in Ilkley

The new project isn’t our first brush with Hollywood. Drew Barrymore stayed at the Cow and Calf hotel during the filming of Miss You Already in 2014. Calendar Girls featured Ilkley-based scenes, and Bafta-nominated God’s Own Country features the moors between here and Keighley.

Create Another Ilkley Film

We boast some of the most spectacular scenery in the world, not to mention a beautiful cinema. We deserve to have more films set on our doorstep, so let’s put together some ideas. You never know, they might even become a reality! Here are some to get you started:

Grove Actually

Ten interwoven stories track the day-to-day lives of the retailers on The Grove in Ilkley. Will they ever get the bookshop’s milk delivery correct? Who is the mysterious customer who phoned in an order for 625 fat rascals from Betty’s? Featuring Hugh Grant doing his best Yorkshire twang.